Address: One LEGOLAND Drive
Pricing: Adults, $19; Seniors, $16; Kids 3-12, $12
Hours: Thurs-Mon, 10 am- 5 pm (closed Tues/Wed); extended summer hours
How To Get There:
From Los Angeles and Orange County: Take the 405 South/ Interstate 5 South to Cannon Road East, turn right at Legoland California. Drive then follow signs to Legoland California.
Parking:$12 in Legoland lots; $20 preferred (closer)
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Legoland California: This parks truly for the kids!
Feb 23, 2010
The only Lego-themed park in the United States, Legoland California in Carlsbad, an hour south of the Disneyland area of Anaheim, is truly a one-of-a-kind family adventure.
Opened in March 1999, Legoland California is truly focused on Lego bricks. It is the third Legoland park to open, and is the only one outside of Europe. The original park is in Denmark, the birthplace of the famous toy building blocks. (The word "Lego" was founded in 1932 and merges two Danish words defined as "play well"; in Latin, it translates as "I assemble".) The other two Lands of Lego are located in Windsor England, not far from London, and in Germany.
The park is split into nine major sections: The Beginning, Dino Island, Duplo, Village Green, Fun Town, Knight's Kingdom, Miniland USA, Pirate Shores, Imagination Zone, and Land of Adventure. On Aug. 11, 2008, the park opened the Sea Life aquarium.
Among those nine sections, Miniland USA is among the most popular of all areas and includes miniature dioramas of seven areas of the United States, built with more than 40 million Lego bricks in 1:20 scale. It took more than three years to complete. The major U.S. cities are viewable from various areas in the park.
From the Coast Cruise ride, visitors may view various mini models otherwise hidden from view, such as the Taj Mahal and Eiffel Tower. Miniland is also residence to the Model Shop, the main design and build office for Legoland California's 10 Master Model Builders. A large viewing window at the front allows guests to watch the builders at work, usually on the park’s new models.
The newest section of the theme park is Land of Adventure. Opened in May 2008, the new section is designed to reproduce the 1920s in Egypt. "Pharaoh's Revenge" entails guests firing foam balls at targets and at each other. On "Beetle Bounce" visitors leap nearly 15 feet to nearly touch the massive beetles above. "Cargo Ace", lets guests get on one of eight planes to fly six feet into the air.
HelloLosAngeles tip: Check the park’s web site thoroughly for special events and detailed info about dining and other specials.
- by Jim Brown , Los Angeles Reporter for HelloMetro
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Jim Brown Jim Brown is a longtime freelance aviation, travel and destination writer and communications professional. A former reporter for Aviation Daily, Air Safety Week and World Airline News, Jim served for more than 15 years as a senior public relations executive for American Airlines, TWA and AirTran Airways.
